Galfenol Thin Films and Nanowires.

Galfenol (Fe1-xGax, 10 < x < 40) may be the only smart material that can be made by electrochemical deposition which enables thick film and nanowire structures. This article reviews the deposition, characterization, and applications of Galfenol thin films and nanowires. Galfenol films have been made by sputter deposition as well as by electrochemical deposition, which can be difficult due to the insolubility of gallium. However, a stable process has been developed, using citrate complexing, a rotating disk electrode, Cu seed layers, and pulsed deposition. Galfenol thin films and nanowires have been characterized for crystal structures and magnetostriction both by our group and by collaborators. Films and nanowires have been shown to be largely polycrystalline, with magnetostrictions that are on the same order of magnitude as textured bulk Galfenol. Electrodeposited Galfenol films were made with epitaxial texture on GaAs. Galfenol nanowires have been made by electrodeposition into anodic aluminum oxide templates using similar parameters defined for films. Segmented nanowires of Galfenol/Cu have been made to provide engineered magnetic properties. Applications of Galfenol and other magnetic nanowires include microfluidic sensors, magnetic separation, cellular radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast, and hyperthermia.

Is blood agar an alternative to sabouraud dextrose agar for the isolation of fungi in patients with mycotic keratitis.

To compare the blood agar (BA), sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) and chocolate agar (CA) for the isolation of fungi in patients with mycotic keratitis. Corneal Scrapings of 229 patients with clinically diagnosed microbial keratitis were inoculated on BA, SDA, CA. The culture media were evaluated for the rate and time taken for the fungal growth. Seventy six of 229 patients had fungal keratitis. Fungus grew on BA in 60/76(78.9 %), on SDA in 76/76 (100 %), on CA in 40/76(52.6 %) patients. The fungi which grew on BA (60/76) also grown on SDA at the same time. The colony morphologies of different fungi were better on SDA than BA/CA. Among the different culture media, SDA is essential for the isolation fungi in patients with mycotic keratitis.

Posterior capsule dehiscence during phacoemulsification and manual extracapsular cataract extraction: comparison of outcomes.

PURPOSE: To compare the intraoperative behavior and postoperative outcomes of posterior capsule dehiscence during phacoemulsification and during manual extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE). SETTING: L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India. METHODS: This study was a retrospective chart review of consecutive cases of posterior capsule dehiscence over 2 years in patients having phacoemulsification or manual ECCE. A chi-square test was used for statistical comparison of the results in the 2 groups. RESULTS: In the 127 eyes with posterior capsule dehiscence, the incidence of vitreous prolapse was comparable between the 2 groups (phacoemulsification, 61.6%; ECCE, 62.7%). In the phacoemulsification group, vitreous prolapse occurred more frequently if nuclear fragments were present at the time of posterior capsule dehiscence than if they were present during cortex removal (P =.05). Posterior dislocation of nuclear fragments occurred in 4 eyes in the phacoemulsification group. Increased anterior uveitis in the early postoperative period occurred more frequently in the ECCE group (P =.02). The visual outcomes were similar between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: Even though differences existed between the intraoperative factors influencing the management of posterior capsule dehiscence during phacoemulsification and ECCE, the final anatomic and visual outcomes were comparable.

Protective effect of a Butea monosperma (Lam.) Taub. flowers extract against skin inflammation: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and matrix metalloproteinases inhibitory activities.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Butea monosperma (Lam.) Taubert (Syn. Butea frondosa; family Fabaceae) is a common plant of the Indian continent (Das et al., 2011; Sharma and Deshwal, 2011). The brightly orange flowers of this plant are widely used in traditional medicine and more particularly for inflammatory disease. AIM OF THE STUDY: In vitro anti-inflammatory mechanism of a hydroethanolic extract of B. monosperma flowers (BME) and more specifically of an enriched fraction in butrin and isobutrin (BI) was studied using cell culture of Normal Human Keratinocyte, cells involved in the skin inflammatory. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Dried and crushed B. monosperma flowers were extracted with Ethanol/H2O (70/30 v/v). The butrin/isobutrin fraction was obtained by centrifugal Partition Chromatography (CPC). Experiments were conducted on UV-B treated normal human epidermis keratinocytes, cells involved in the skin inflammatory response. To evaluate extract anti-inflammatory activity, cytokines IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-8, prostaglandin E2 and metalloproteinases MMP-1, -2, -9 and -10 were measured in the cells supernatant. RESULTS: Our data clearly showed that hydroalcoholic B. monosperma flower extract was able to decrease the secretion of IL-1ß, IL-6 and IL-8 pro-inflammatory cytokines of -32, -33 and -18% respectively. Interestingly, Prostaglandin E2 production and the secretion of MMP-1, -2, -9 and -10 were also inhibited. Same results were observed in presence of enriched fraction in butrin and isobutrin and confirmed the participation of these molecules in the anti-inflammatory activity. CONCLUSION: These results explain the anti-inflammatory activity of B. monosperma and confirm the interest to use it in traditional Indian medicine. Moreover, its metalloproteinases inhibitory activities coupled with its anti-inflammatory action also give anti-aging property to this plant.

Allelic and locus heterogeneity in autosomal recessive gelatinous drop-like corneal dystrophy.

Gelatinous drop-like corneal dystrophy (GDLD) is a rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by the deposition of amyloid beneath the corneal epithelium and by severely impaired visual acuity leading to blindness. Although gelatinous corneal dystrophy has previously been mapped to chromosome 1p and seems to be associated with mutations in the M1S1 gene, molecular genetic studies have been limited to Japanese patients. To investigate the cause of GDLD in patients with diverse ethnic backgrounds, we performed linkage analyses in eight unrelated GDLD families from India, USA, Europe, and Tunisia. In seven of these families, the disease locus mapped to a 16-cM interval on the short arm of chromosome 1 between markers D1S519 and D1S2835, a region including the M1S1 gene. In addition, a 1.2-kb fragment containing the entire coding region of M1S1 gene was sequenced in affected individuals. Seven novel mutations (M1R, 8-bp ins., Q118 E, V194 E, C119 S, 870delC, and 1117delA) were identified in six families and two unrelated individuals. No sequence abnormalities were detected in a single family in which the GDLD locus was also excluded from the M1S1 region by linkage analysis. These findings demonstrate allelic and locus heterogeneity for GDLD.